NGC 688
NGC 688
Illustration from its catalogued shape, not a photograph
Barred spiral
type · Sb
195 million ly
from Earth · from redshift
50k ly
across
12.7
apparent magnitude
Because its light is 195 million ly from home, you are seeing NGC 688 as it looked roughly 195 million years ago. The photons left before that much of history had passed, and are only now reaching us. This distance is estimated from the galaxy's redshift, so the lookback time is approximate.
Nearest galaxies
NGC 714Lenticular7.9 million ly
apartIC 179Elliptical11 million ly
apartNGC 736Elliptical13 million ly
apartNGC 738Lenticular13 million ly
apartNGC 705Lenticular15 million ly
apartNGC 668Barred spiral16 million ly
apart
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→apartIC 179Elliptical11 million ly
apartNGC 736Elliptical13 million ly
apartNGC 738Lenticular13 million ly
apartNGC 705Lenticular15 million ly
apartNGC 668Barred spiral16 million ly
apart
Source: structural data (position, morphology, brightness, redshift) from OpenNGC (CC BY-SA). Distance computed by gravityfinder from redshift via Hubble's law (H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc).